THE PRESENT INVENTION relates to a method of binding books and an apparatus for binding books.
At present book binding is often subcontracted from a printer to a book manufacturing plant. While the length of print runs has been reduced recently, there has been little or no development in the field of short-run, quality book binding. Traditional finishing systems in general, although highly automated in themselves, are usually quite time-consuming to set up and therefore do not lend themselves to short runs.
Traditionally books are printed on a number of large sheets, which have to be folded, collated and gathered for sewing, or cut into pages before paperback binding as is described in greater details below. Digital presses can print, collate and gather all the pages of a book in one operation. In many cases two (or even four) books can be printed at one time (two-to-view or duplex printing). This facility is wasted when these two (or four) copies have to be cut apart into single blocks of pages for machines that can bind only one copy at a time.
It is already known to provide automated machines for book binding assembly. Typically, such a machine takes a stack of printed pages, known as a text hull, and clamps them in place. Each stack of pages forms the pages of one completed book. The pages of two books printed two-to-view are traditionally printed so that the gutter of each page, that is to say the margin of the page that is closest to the spine in a completed book, forms a line along the centre of the text hull.
The next step for two books printed two-to-view is for the text hull to be separated into individual stacks of pages for a single book by cutting the text hull into sections. A cover is glued to the gutter edge of each of the pages in a section and folded around the pages of the book. Finally, the book is trimmed along the three other margins known as the head, foot, and fore-edge margins. This trimming stage ensures that the pages of the book are of exactly the same size as the portions of the cover at each end of the book so that the cover does not extend beyond the edges of the pages.
The problem with this type of process is that the covers of each of the books must be glued individually since the gluing stage is not carried out until the text hull has been separated into individual sections. Another problem with the existing process is that each of the four margins of a book must be trimmed which is time consuming.
The present invention seeks to provide an improved method of binding books and an improved book binding apparatus specifically for digital printing presses, copiers or the like.
According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of binding books comprising the steps of holding in place a text hull comprising the pages of at least two books, the gutters of said at least two books being located on opposite edges of the text hull to one another; binding the opposite edges of the text hull adjacent the gutter of the pages; and dividing the text hull to separate said at least two books from one another.
Conveniently, the binding step comprises the step of applying adhesive to the opposite edges of the text hull and pressing a binding strip against the opposite edges of the text hull.
Preferably, the binding step comprises the further step of jogging and/or milling said opposite edges of the text hull before applying adhesive to said opposite edges.
According to another aspect of the invention there is provided a book binding apparatus comprising securing means to hold a text hull in place, the text hull comprising the pages of at least two books, the gutters of said at least two books being located on opposite edges of the text hull; binding means to bind together each of the opposite edges of the text hull adjacent the gutter of the pages; and separating means to divide the text hull to separate said at least two books from one another.
Conveniently, said binding means comprises means to apply adhesive to said opposite edges of the text hull and means to press a binding strip to the opposite edges of the text hull adjacent the gutter of the pages.
Advantageously, said binding means is adapted to apply cold glue, hot glue, a wet glue or water to activate a wet glue.
According to a further aspect of the present invention there is provided a book comprising at least one page, said at least one page being enfolded by an end paper, the or each edge of said at least one page adjacent the gutter being attached to said end paper, said end paper being enfolded by a cover, the outer sides of the end paper being attached, in a region adjacent the gutter of the pages, to the inner surface of the cover such that a hollow is provided adjacent the gutter between the cover and the end paper.
Another aspect of the present invention provides a method of book binding comprising the steps of: providing a supply of pages having an inactive bonding agent on or in each page; printing onto a page from the supply; activating the bonding agent on the printed page; and stacking the printed pages with activated bonding agent onto one another to form a text hull.
A further aspect of the present invention provides a book comprising a cover enfolding at least two pages including a top page and a bottom page, the edges of the pages adjacent the gutter being attached to one another and the outer sides of the top and bottom pages being attached, in a region adjacent the gutter of the pages, to the inner surface of the cover such that a hollow is provided adjacent the gutter between the cover and the edges of the paper adjacent the gutter.